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Theists: What is the most compelling argument you have heard for Atheism?
RE: Theists: What is the most compelling argument you have heard for Atheism?
(March 27, 2017 at 10:21 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: In a cumulative argument, one result is dependent upon the prior result, and so on.  These are all independent lines of evidence: none of them reinforce each other.  What you have is what is known as a 'rope argument' in which the independent strands are woven together to make one argument.  In a rope argument, the whole is only as strong as the strongest individual strand.  And in your case, none of the individual strands are particularly strong or convincing.  So what you actually have is a weak argument.

Sorry, Jor, but I’m throwing the bullshit flag on that play. You are conveniently avoiding the role of parsimony. For example, what is the best interpretation for the following body of data?:

1) Clyde’s wife, Gertrude, has been coming home unusually late from her job.
2) Gertrude doesn’t answer her office phone on those nights, only her cell.
3) Gertrude has changed her hair style.
4) She has started taking private calls to their home in another room.
5) Gertrude rebuffs Clyde’s advances and making excuses to not have sex.
6) Gertrude has taken to wearing lingerie under her work clothes.
7) in the mail Clyde finds a statement for a new credit card Gertrude opened without telling him.
8) Gertrude comes home smelling like men's cologne.

Now, in each case Gertrude could perhaps make a perfectly reasonable excuse for each:

1) a tight deadline at work,
2) the office phones are messed up,
3) she needs to look good for a presentation she’s been asked to do,
4) not wanting to annoy Clyde's TV watching,
5) headaches and yeast infections,
6) feeling the need to start treating herself,
7) and needing a way to buy surprise gifts for Clyde's birthday.
8) Her co-worker has an obnoxiously powerful air-freshener.

Maybe all those various and independent excuses are valid. Clyde could convince himself that each is plausible and decide that none constitute a conclusive misdeed by Gertrude. Still, it would be obvious to any outsider that the simplest and best interpretation is that Gertrude is cheating on Clyde.


(March 27, 2017 at 12:11 pm)Whateverist Wrote: What you call "fine tuning" is what I call things arraying themselves as they must given their inherent properties and current trajectory.  
And just how did they get just those highly exact inherent properties that so conveniently arrange themselves and why must the various trajectories be preserved according to very precise principles? Mere coincidence? They just do for no reason at all?
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RE: Theists: What is the most compelling argument you have heard for Atheism? - by Neo-Scholastic - March 27, 2017 at 12:32 pm

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